I think the course John Conley was thinking of is Emerald Bay, which is right in Sandestin. Emerald Bay is a Bob Cupp course, and it is a lot of fun to play. The front nine has a couple strange holes (I really didn't like 5 thru
, but the back nine is a really good nine holes, with 15-17 being particularly good out and back from the Choctawatchee Bay. It's probably much cheaper than the Sandestin courses as well.
I've played a few in the area (Camp Creek, Windswept Dunes, Seascape, Bluewater Bay), and even though Camp Creek and Windswept might be a little better as golf courses, Emerald Bay has the right balance of price, convenience, and interesting architecture if you're staying in Destin.
It really is too bad that the golf isn't better on the Panhandle Coast. The dunes-lakes combination is spectacular in many places (especially in Seaside, an essential place to see if you're in the neighborhood), and even with how pristine those areas are, it would be great to see just one course use that landscape to its maximum golfing potential.